Congress·In Committee·H.R. 3879

Broadcast VOICES Act

Broadcast VOICES Act: Diversity in Media Ownership

about 1 year ago·View on Congress.gov·Read full text

The Broadcast VOICES Act is currently in the early stages of the legislative process. It has been sent to two House committees for review and is waiting for further action from those groups. The bill is still active but does not have any upcoming votes scheduled at this time.

Legislative Progress

House

Senate

President

Law

Unlikely to pass

While it addresses a known gap in media ownership, bills with race-based tax incentives often face tough opposition in a divided Congress and potential legal hurdles.

Key Points

This bill creates a tax incentive program to encourage more diversity in who owns radio and TV stations. Currently, women and minorities own a very small percentage of the thousands of broadcast stations across the country.
Sellers of broadcast stations could avoid paying certain taxes immediately if they sell their station to a woman or a person from a minority group. This benefit applies to sales worth up to $50 million.
The new owners must keep the station for at least two to three years and stay involved in running the business. This rule is meant to ensure the program leads to long-term ownership rather than quick sales for profit.
Companies could also get a tax credit if they donate a station to a charity. To qualify, the charity must have a program that trains people from disadvantaged backgrounds to run and manage media businesses.
The Federal Communications Commission would be required to track these ownership numbers and report back to Congress every two years. They will also study if having different types of owners leads to more variety in the news and shows people see.

Impact Analysis

Govbase has not yet run an impact analysis on this legislation.

Milestones

2 milestones2 actions

Jun 10, 2025House

Referred to the Committee on Ways and Means, and in addition to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.

Sent to a congressional committee for expert review. The committee decides whether this bill moves forward.

Jun 10, 2025

Introduced in House

The bill was officially filed and given a number. It now enters the legislative queue.

No votes or news coverage recorded for this bill yet.

Source Information

Document Type

Congressional Bill

Official Title

Broadcast VOICES Act

Bill NumberHR 3879

Congress119th Congress

ChamberHouse of Representatives

Latest ActionReferred to the Committee on Ways and Means, and in addition to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.